the police are not encouraging us to do so. in fact, keeping a close watch. as i mentioned, this town already so deeply ravaged by this storm. more than 500 million gallons of water flooded these streets, about 20,000 residents were cut off, completely stranded in their homes. the national guard had to come in and evacuate them and take them to shelters. half of those residents as i understand, still in their homes, still stranded, the mayor is still calling for help. this is one of many communities torn apart by sandy's cruel path. >> a grim new reality as the power of sandy's catastrophic punch continues to swell. >> it's beyond belief. it's really catastrophic. from as far north and south as you can go, there's houses ripped off their foundations, torn apart. >> reporter: new chilling images of neighborhoods utterly decimated, resembling war zones with homes crushed like crumbling match sticks. >> i got nothing left. memories and everything else, everything's ruined. ruined. >> reporter: the winds may be long gone, but the flooding isn't. here in hoboken, some 20,000 people trapped, many c